Achieving Sustainable Development Goals: Prospects and Challenges for India [SUSTIND]

Conference on Achieving Sustainable Development Goals: Prospects and Challenges for India

[SUSTIND]

About the Conference:

The United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 2015 brought out a list of 17 goals and 169 targets that are envisioned to form the basis of development across the globe in the coming years. These goals seek to guide policies to ameliorate the performance of the nations in a number of aspects that ail them, including issues of gender equality, poverty reduction, human rights, access to basic resources, sustainable energy extraction and use, and protection and maintenance of the environment.

In recent decades, India has transitioned into an emerging economy that has demonstrated strong growth in its various sectors. With one-sixth of the global population, the realization of the sustainable development goals in this region would have profound impacts on global average welfare and living standards. To accelerate their achievement, the NITI Aayog has been entrusted with coordinating and assigning government ministries certain targets. To monitor progress, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) has been working on developing national indicators for the SDGs and has subsequently published the SDG India Index since 2018.

As of 2020, the SDG India Index shows that the country has made considerable progress in implementing affordable and clean energy, clean water, and sanitation, and introducing sustainable cities and communities, among others. Region-wise, the southern and western states of the country show relatively better levels of goal realization, but some northern and northeastern states require additional attention to address lingering issues. Important facets of the SDGs that are in need of attention include the elimination of hunger and improving gender equality, where India currently performs the worst relative to other goals. Other areas with potential for improvement include, among others, the provision of quality education, infrastructure, energy conservation and climate action.

Thus, while there have been improvements on several counts, some areas still require special attention, especially due to their complex and interconnected nature. In the Anthropocene era, dominated by marked climactic change, balancing healthy economic growth with the achievement of environmental sustainability and reaching other sustainable goals needs to be addressed in a holistic and multifaceted manner.

Thus, there is a need for research, discussion, and debate, especially by the young minds of the country to tackle these issues and provide a clear and actionable path for the citizens as well as policymakers. A conference for building knowledge from various disciplines of humanities and social sciences on the nexus between growth and sustainable development, and improving welfare in the Indian context is a valuable addition to the achievement of the sustainable development goals for the country. Thus, a conference is planned which will be in the form of presentations, discussions, and exchange of ideas focusing on the application aspect of results.

Against this backdrop, the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) and its Young Scholars Initiative (YSI) are collaborating with the Indian Institute of Technology, Jammu and Sri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Jammu, to jointly organize a conference on Achieving Sustainable Development Goals: Prospects and Challenges for India.

We invite doctoral students and early career researchers/assistant professors (within 7 years of their Ph.D.) to a two-day conference that aims to foster cross-cultural and interdisciplinary dialogues with attention to SDG goals for India. The conference aims to explore the following themes:

• Poverty, Hunger, and Reduced Inequality: Monitoring multidimensional poverty and social inequalities, and exploring the challenge faced by the vulnerable groups.
• Health, Sanitation, and Well-being: Assessing progress and addressing the emerging issues in sanitation, nutrition, child health, maternal health, ageing of the population, and health, and well-being.
• Human Capital Development: Evaluating the affordability and quality of education at various levels, and the development of technical and soft skills to create a globally competent youth workforce.
• Economic Growth, Employment and Decent Work: Examining the quality and fairness of work, focusing on the emerging gig economy and online platforms, with attention to labour rights and exploitation.
• Sustainable Cities and Communities: Investigating the availability, accessibility, and affordability of basic services to promote human development.
• Climate Action, Energy Conservation and Clean Energy: Exploring advancements in climate change mitigation, climate action, and sustainable resource use for a better future.
• Gender and Social Equality: Assessing the progress and challenges in achieving gender and social equality, including issues faced by marginalized groups. Addressing the question of social and economic exclusion.
• Governance, Institutions, and Justice: Exploring the role of governance and institutions in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and addressing justice issues.
• Industry and Infrastructure Development: Exploring the role of industrial and infrastructure development for better livelihood, income, and growth.
• SDG-related Issues of Jammu and Kashmir Region: Examining the progress and challenges toward achieving SDGs in the region.

The above themes are indicative. Any research paper related to other issues on SDG goals are also welcome.

Eligibility

Doctoral Students and Early Career Researchers/Assistant Professors (within 7 years of their Ph.D.) are invited to submit full papers. The submission should be related to the broader conference theme.  Selected candidates will be required to send a scanned copy of their bona-fide certificate.

Paper Submission Guidelines: 

• Scholars are required to submit a full paper for the conference. Submissions of work in progress are also welcome.
• The paper must be the original work of the scholars. All papers will be checked for originality.
• All submissions must be in PDF format. The formatting should be done in Times New Roman font, size 12 for regular text and bold for headings, with 1.15 line spacing and justified alignment.
• The author’s name or affiliation should not be mentioned in the paper. The title of the paper should be used as the filename.
• Along with the full paper, scholars are also required to submit their latest Curriculum Vitae.

Financial Support:

Selected participants will receive travel support (by train) to travel within India and accommodation to support their participation in the conference.

Dates & Venue:

• Last date for submission of full papers: 25 January 2025 (Extended Deadline)
• Selected participants notified of acceptance: 10 February 2025 [selected participants are notified]
• Dates of the Conference: 21-22 March 2025
• Venue: Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), Katra, Jammu, 182320, and IIT Jammu, Jagti Jammu-181121.

Organizing Committee:

• Meenakshi Rajeev, Professor, Department of Humanities & Social Sciences (HSS), IIT Jammu
• Amitash Ojha, Head, Department of Humanities & Social Sciences (HSS), IIT Jammu
• Kakali Majumdar, Professor, School of Economics, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Katra, Jammu & Kashmir
• Pabitra Kumar Jena, Associate Professor, School of Economics, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Katra, Jammu & Kashmir
• Shafkat Safi Dar, Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities & Social Sciences (HSS), IIT Jammu
• Hardeep Singh, Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities & Social Sciences (HSS), IIT Jammu
• Sunanda Nair-Bidkar, Director, South Asia, INET
• Christina Kujur, Organizer, INET-YSI
• Bikram Barman, Coordinator, INET-YSI

For any queries, contact: southasia@youngscholarsinitiative.org,  sustind2025@gmail.com